Earlier this week, high-quality photos surfaced picturing an alleged fifth-generation iPad shell in ‘Space Grey’, the very same finish Apple debuted with the iPhone 5s. Matching up with tons of previously leaked images and rumors, these piccies reinforce suggestions that the iPad 5 adopts the iPad mini’s skinnier side bezels and overall design.

An Apple-focused blog today posted what appears to be legitimate iPad 5 schematics, providing a glimpse into the iPad 5’s design. In months past, rumors have pointed to Apple shedding the fat by using a thinner display assembly and a smaller LED backlighting module.

Now, the most interesting aspect of today’s leaked documentation deals with the iPad 5’s thickness: the device appears significantly thinner and lighter than its predecessor, the iPad 4…

The image top of post, obtained by AppleInsider, indicates the fifth-generation iPad measuring 169.48mm in width, 240mm in height and 7.5mm thick. By comparison, the iPhone 4/4s measures 58.6mm in width, 115.2mm in height and 9.3mm in depth. The current fourth-generation iPad is 185.8 x 241.3 x 9.55mm.

Quick, do the math in your head: the iPad 5 should be 1.8mm thinner than the iPhone 4/4s and 2.05mm less than the iPad 4. Another way to look at it: the iPad 5 even manages to be a hair thinner than the iPhone 5/5s (7.6mm).

The iPad 5 isn’t as thin as the impossibly-thin iPod touch (6.1mm), but is dangerously close to the iPad mini territory (7.2mm). As for the width/height, the schematics suggests the device comes in 16.32mm narrower and 1.3mm shorter than the current-generation iPad 4. Apple was able to build a smaller, more compact device because its engineers have shrunk the side bezels, iPad mini style.

The supposed ‘Space Grey’ iPad 5 shell.

AppleInsider adds:

Aside from those changes, the new iPad is expected to be lighter than its predecessor, helping to make the 9.7-inch tablet more portable.

But the main elements of the device, including the home button, forward-facing FaceTime camera, lock button, and the location of the headphone jack and microphone on top of the device are all expected to stay largely the same.

In addition to the narrower side bezels, the iPad 5 is thought to include a power-efficient A7 chip alongside an updated battery technology, both allowing for a thinner and more portable device without sacrificing performance.